Citation Nr: 0905372
Decision Date: 02/13/09 Archive Date: 02/19/09
DOCKET NO. 07-30 081 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Winston-
Salem, North Carolina
THE ISSUES
1. Whether new and material evidence has been presented to
reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and if so, whether the claim
should be granted.
2. Entitlement to service connection for chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) claimed as due to exposure to
asbestos.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: The American Legion
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
J. H. Nilon, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active naval service from December 1969 to
October 1971.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals
(Board) on appeal from a July 2006 rating decision by the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
REMAND
The veteran stated in his substantive appeal, received in
September 2007, that he did not want a hearing before the
Board. However, the veteran submitted a VA Form 21-4138
(Statement in Support of Claim) in November 2008 requesting
that he be afforded a videoconference hearing before the
Board.
Because such hearings before the Board are scheduled by the
RO, a remand of this case is required. See 38 C.F.R.
§ 20.704 (2008).
Accordingly, this case is hereby REMANDED to the RO, via the
Appeals Management Center, for the following action:
The veteran should be scheduled for a
videoconference hearing before the Board
in accordance with the docket number of
his appeal.
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No action is required of the veteran until he is otherwise
notified but he has the right to submit additional evidence
and argument on the matters the Board has remanded. See
Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).
_________________________________________________
Shane A. Durkin
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the
nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.
38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2008).